Cargill to open ethanol plant in Germany

BARBY, GERMANY — Cargill announced on Dec. 17 that it will invest €60 million in building a new ethanol facility in Barby, Saxony Anhalt, Germany.

The plant will produce premium ethanol destined for the German and European beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

“This investment by our starches and sweeteners business will allow us to further build on our ethanol expertise in Europe, enabling us to better serve our customers throughout the region,” said Frank van Lierde, executive vice-president at Cargill.

Cargill's new ethanol facility will produce ethanol by using feedstock from Cargill's adjacent wheat facility. The new facility will be built alongside Cargill’s existing wheat processing plant on the company’s site in Barby.

“This expansion will complement our existing network of ethanol facilities in Manchester in the United Kingdom, Sas van Gent and Bergen op Zoom in the Netherlands and Wroclaw in Poland,” Van Lierde said.

The new plant will be built to the highest environmental, food and health and safety standards, using the best available technologies, Cargill said. It is expected to be operational by fall 2015.